High-Power, Wideband Analog Optical Reciever

Foster-Miller, a company committed to growth in the commercialization of optical communications products, proposes to conduct a Phase I SBIR effort directed towards the development of a wideband optical receiver. This development has goals for performance of the receiver that include operational bandwidths of 20 - 100 GHz for linear operation at power levels of greater than 20 mW of optical power at optical wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 ¿m. Foster-Miller will apply experience in optical waveguides, optoelectronic packaging, and rf modules to the selection of technical approaches to be modeled for optical and mm-wave performance, selecting the most promising technology for breadboard experimentation. A travelling-wave photodetector coupled to Foster-Miller's embedded optical waveguide technology is a likely approach. Phase II of the program will involve implementation of a receiver prototype and demonstration of the wideband optical receiver technology in a link testbed.